Glenville, W. Va. – As the rains came down across West Virginia, the Wheeling University Baseball team (8-16, 2-10) wrapped up their Mountain East Conference (MEC) Crossover play in Glenville, West Virginia. They would play between the rain drops as they took on Glenville State, falling in doubleheader action. The Cardinals dropped game one 7-2 before falling in a pitcher's duel to round things out with a 3-2 loss.
Game One: Glenville State 7, Wheeling 2
As they entered the doubleheader, the Cardinal offense would get things going in the top of the first. Christian Boyles would start things with a single and a sacrifice bunt from Spencer Craig would move the runner to scoring position with one out. Keaton Ference would step in and draw a walk as Boyles advanced to third on a wild pitch, and another wild pitch would bring Boyles home to give Wheeling a 1-9 advantage. Sebastian Khan would get the start for the Cardinals and allowed a run in the home half of the first and the game would sit tied at 1-1 after one inning. Khan would allow a base runner in the bottom of the second and the Cardinal offense would get back out in front in the top of the third.
Zach Dellerman and Boyles were hit by pitches in back-to-back at-bats that made it first and second with nobody out. A single by Craig would load the bases and it was Nicholas Ancelet who would bring the runner home from third. However, WheekingAs unable to add on in the inning, and led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the third. Khan was able to keep the Pioneers at bay in the third, but they would overtake the Cardinals with a pair of home runs to start the bottom of the fourth. Khan would finish 5.0 innings of work, allowing four runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out eight. The Pioneers added a run in the bottom of the fifth and three in the sixth to put the game out of reach. Wheeling would get two runners in scoring position in the seventh, but it wasn't enough as they fell 7-2.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Nicholas Ancelet, who finished 1-2 with a pair of walks and an RBI. Zach Dellerman and Christian Boyles would each score runs on the game, and each finished 1-2 on the effort. Spencer Craig would pick-up the only multi-hit game of the day, finishing 2-3 in the effort. The Cardinals would look to salvage a game in the weekend when they headed to game two of the series.
Game Two: Glenville State 3, Wheeling 2
Game two would be the classic pitcher's duel as the Cardinals sent Jaden Wilcox to the hill. After allowing a run in the bottom of the first, Wilcox would settle in, throwing up zeros in the second and third innings. The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the third when Christian Boyles reached on a two-out double. Spencer Craig would then step in and lined a single right center to score Boyles and tie the game at 1-1. However, Glenville State was back at it in the bottom of the fourth, racking on two more runs and the Cardinals found themselves down again 3-1 heading to the top of the fifth. Wilcox would settle in for the rest of the game, throwing a complete game 6.0 innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out a career high nine batters. In their final two at-bats, the Cardinals would look to battle back and earn a win.
It began in the top of the sixth, when Spencer Craig began things with a leadoff single. Two batters later, Ancelet would find a gap with a one-out double and the Cardinals would have runners on second and third. Nicholas Schulz would step in and picked up his man from third with an RBI single to make it a 3-2 game. Schulz would steal second to get into scoring position, but he would be stranded there to end the inning as Ancelet was nabbed at home trying to steal a run. Wilcox would put together a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth and Zach Dellerman would reach on a leadoff single. Jacob Lentz would replace him on a fielder's choice. Lentz would be stranded at first to end the game as a pair of fly outs kept it a 3-2 game as the Cardinals go 0-4 on the weekend.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Spencer Craig, who finished 2-3 with an RBI on the day. Craig would finish the day 4-6 between the two games as he continues to be a leader for the offense. Nicholas Schulz added the other RBI on the day, finishing 1-3, while Nicolas Ancelet would also pick up a multi-hit game, finishing 2-3.
The Wheeling University Baseball team returns to action on Tuesday, April 1st, when they take on CAL+U at 1 PM.
